The Mongu Kids Alive Academy
The Mongu Kids Alive Academy
This wonderful school provides a great education to 525 of the most vulnerable children in the impoverished Mongu region of Western Province, where girls are especially vulnerable and where there is negligible investment in education,
Set in the rural village of Katongo, near Mongu, The Kids Alive Academy provides an education, food and hope to nearly 525 of the region’s most vulnerable and impoverished children. Many have lost at least one parent (typically to the terrible AIDS epidemic), some have been abandoned, some abused. All live in abject poverty. Indeed, the more vulnerable they are, the more chance they have of being admitted.
Our aim is for students to leave the Academy with good character, core knowledge, and spiritual maturity, equipped to become leaders in their families and communities. Our curriculum goes up to Year 7 and covers maths, science, language, social studies, technology, art, and Bible studies. Physical education and home economics help develop well-rounded, healthy students.
In addition to a great education, we serve a healthy lunch, often the only meal of the day they get. This crucially encourages them to come to school and means there is less chance of them being forced to go to work; or be married off if a girl; as well as helping prevent malnutrition, which in turn can lead to permanent stunted growth and impeded brain development.
By providing free nutritous school dinners, children don't have to go to work or be married off if a young girl. They can also concentrate better.
Most of the pupils have never even seen a computer, never mind used one. The KAA prepares them well for secondary school.
The school only admits the most impoverished and vulnerable. It also oversees family strengethening programmes to ensure the child's longer term well-being.
Our new reception class is recognised by the local eductaion authorities as a model of excellence, with other schools being invited to visit and learn from it.
A number of the children come to us years behind due to their difficult backgrounds, so sometimes start in lower grade classes with extra interventons to help them catch up.
Prayer, Bible studies and worship are a key part of life at the Kids Alive Academy. Here the younger children are praying at the end of their day before they go home.
Our new livelihood support project
Girls are especially vulnerable in this region, with staggering numbers dropping out of secondary school. To help prevent our students doing so once they have moved on from the Academy, in 2023 we set up a livelihood support programme for the most vulnerable families, typically single mums. If they learn a livelihood, then they will have the resources to keep the girl in education.
For this project, we have started working with small groups primarily on a tailoring project, where we are teaching the most vulnerable mums (and some dads) how to sew and set up a business in tailoring. In this region there is a captive market for school uniforms, re-usable sanitary pads, and casual clothes, so the women have initially started focusing on these products.
We are very excited by this project and would very much welcome your prayers that it will grow and impact many more lives, strengthening some of the region's (and indeed Zambia's) most vulnerable families.
It is still early days but so far, so good.
Mongu Kids Alive Academy: A story of hope
Meet Ruth (name changed to protect privacy)
Ruth is the youngest in her family, born when her older siblings were adults. Her father died when she was just two years old, and she now lives with her older sister and aging mother. Like so many families here, they live in extreme poverty, and their only income is from selling vegetables in a small market.
When Ruth was five years old, her mother tried to enrol her in a local public school but was denied a spot for her daughter. Then they found out about Kids Alive Academy where she was accepted. Ruth is now one of the best students in her class. She takes her education very seriously and aspires to become a teacher someday.
When Ruth isn’t working on homework, you can find her reading novels that she borrows from her teachers. We are thankful to have this sweet young lady in our school and pray for God to use her in mighty ways for her family and community.
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